Bite proof straw assembly

ABSTRACT

A bite proof drinking straw assembly. The drinking straw assembly has a straw comprising an upper portion and a lower portion of different durometers. The upper portion is made of a first material of a first durometer and the lower portion is made of a second material of a second durometer. The second material of the second durometer is different from the first material of the first durometer. An upper end of the lower portion is attached to a lower end of the upper portion.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This applications claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 62/119,058, filed Feb. 20, 2015; U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 14/703,843, filed May 4, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/046,869, filed Sep. 5, 2014; and to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/988,077, filed May 2, 2014; the contents of allof which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entiretyinto this disclosure.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject disclosure relates generally to bottles and drinkingcontainers. In particular, the invention relates to a bottle having ahardened, bite proof straw assembly.

BACKGROUND

Conventional bottles with straws are consistently exposed to harshbiting conditions from young children. After a long period of repeatedbiting, these straws may become weakened or damaged causing irregularflow or loose particles. Children, however, are known for biting throughstraws, causing tears and breaking the straw. Trying to account for thisby stiffening the straw creates an exposed, inflexible opening,resulting in sanitation issues and spills. Unfortunately, thesedeficiencies have not been solved and have never been addressedpreviously.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will be described indetail, wherein like reference numerals refer to identical or similarcomponents or steps, with reference to the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of an exemplary bite proof bottle with apivoting cover according to the subject disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the bottle with the pivoting cover in bothan open and close position.

FIG. 3 depicts a front view of the bottle.

FIG. 4 illustrates a back view of the bottle.

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the pivoting cover.

FIG. 6 depicts a side view of the bottle with handles.

FIG. 7 illustrates another side view of the bottle.

FIG. 8 shows a front view of the bottle with handles.

FIG. 9 depicts a top view of the bottle with handles with the pivotingcover in both the open and closed position.

FIG. 10 illustrates a back view of the bottle with the cover in theclosed position.

FIG. 11 shows a cross section view of the bottle about A-A in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 depicts a back view of the bottle with the cover in the openposition.

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross section view of the bottle about B-B in FIG.12.

FIG. 14 shows a back perspective view of a bite proof bottle with apivoting cover having another exemplary spout and lid according to thesubject disclosure.

FIG. 15 depicts a side perspective view of the bottle with the cover inthe closed position.

FIG. 16 illustrates a side perspective view of the bottle with the coverin the open position.

FIG. 17 shows an upper perspective view of a bottle having a bite proofspout according to the subject disclosure.

FIG. 18 depicts another upper perspective view of a bottle having a biteproof spout.

FIGS. 19-20 show a front and side view of the bottle having a bite proofspout.

FIG. 21 illustrates an upper perspective view of a soft top inserthaving a bite proof spout.

FIG. 22 depicts a top view of the soft top insert having the bite proofspout.

FIGS. 23-24 shows front and side views of the soft top insert having thebite proof spout.

FIGS. 25-26 illustrates front and side cross section views of the softtop insert having the bite proof spout.

FIGS. 27-35 illustrate an exemplary process of making the soft topinsert with the bite proof spout.

FIGS. 36-40 depict front, side and top views of another exemplaryembodiment of the subject disclosure having a bite proof straw.

FIG. 41 shows a cross section view of the bottle about a line C-C inFIG. 37.

FIG. 42 illustrates a cross section view of the bottle about a line D-Din FIG. 39.

FIG. 43 depicts another cross section view of the bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Particular embodiments of the present invention will now be described ingreater detail with reference to the figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a bottle 10 having a lid 20, a container 30, a spout40, a cover 50 and a pivoting connection 60 embodied as a strap 54.

FIG. 2 shows the cover 50 having a cap portion 52 and the strap 54. Thecap portion 52 may be co-molded with the strap 54 which is made of aflexible material such that it allows the cap portion to pivot about thepivoting connection 60. The cap portion 52 may also be of a harderdurometer than the strap 54 by using methods later discussed herein.However, the strap 54 may also be made from a second material than thecap portion 52. The cap portion 52 and strap 54 can take a variety ofdifferent shapes and sizes and be made from a wide variety of suitablematerials with various thicknesses and durometer.

In a closed position, the cover 50 will enclose the spout 40 such toprevent exposure of the spout 40. The cap portion 52 has a shape whichgenerally follows the contour of the spout 40 shape to create a slip-fitfrictional connection preventing the cover 50 from slipping off of thespout 40 without a predetermined amount of force to overcome thefriction fit. This force should be high enough to keep the cover 50 in aclosed position if the bottle 10 is knocked over or dropped, but lowenough such that a young child or parent can remove the cover 50 fromthe spout 40 with ease.

The cap portion 52 may also have a beaded edge 57 and a pull tab 58,which gives a user a place to grip onto for increased leverage of thecover 50 and to facilitate removing the cover 50 from the closedposition. In addition, the cap portion 52 may connect directly to thelid 20 or base of the spout 40 by a mating feature between the beadededge 57 and the spout 40 or lid 20. The mating feature may act as aslip-fit or snap fastener, or any other suitable connection to preventthe cover 50 from slipping off of the spout 40.

FIGS. 3-4 illustrate the spout 40 having a top portion 42, a bottomportion 44, a middle band 46 and a lip 48. The spout 40 can be made invarious shapes or sizes, and be made from a variety of suitablematerials. An opening in the top portion 42 may be made in the form of acircle, oval, race track, or any other suitable shape.

The middle band 46 acts as a bite guard and subsequently protects thespout 40 from biting of the user. The middle band 46 may have a firstdurometer and the top portion 42 and bottom portion 44 may have a seconddurometer. The first durometer is greater than the second durometer inorder to provide added bite protection. Alternatively, both the topportion 42 and the middle band 46 may have the first durometer while thebottom portion 44 may have the second durometer, thus protecting theentire upper portion of the spout 40 from gnawing or biting.

The middle band 46 may be manufactured to have a first color while thetop portion 42 and bottom portion 44 have a second color. This gives theuser a visual indicator of where the material durometer changes and thuswhere the bite guard is located. Furthermore, using different colors forthe middle band 46 may act to distinguish spouts with differentdurometer bite guards. For instance, a pink middle band 46 may representa durometer of 70 Shore while a turquoise middle band 46 may represent adurometer of 100 Shore.

The middle band 46 may be extended completely flush with the top portion42 and bottom portion 44, or may bow out by a predetermined width toform a bump 47 to further distinguish it from the rest of the spout 40.The bump 47 may be located at the top, middle or bottom of the middleband 46, or any combination thereof. The middle band 46 may also includevarious textures, patterns or designs on its surface or interior tofurther distinguish it from the rest of the spout 40. Differing thetexture of the middle band 46 or providing the bump 47 will provide theuser an additional tactile feedback of where the durometer changes whenthey drink from the bottle 10.

In order to form the difference in durometer, the middle band 46 havingthe first durometer may be compression molded, and then the rest of thespout 40 having the second durometer may be subsequently liquidinjection molded around the middle band 46. In an alternativeembodiment, both the top portion 42 and middle band 46 may have thefirst durometer while the bottom portion 44 has the second durometer.This may be manufactured in the same fashion as the previous embodiment.It also may be manufactured by first compression molding the top portion42 and middle band 46 with the first durometer, then subsequentlycompression molding the bottom portion 44 with the second durometer.

FIG. 5 depicts the strap 54 having a textured inner surface comprised ofraised ridges 54 a and grooves 54 b. Since the strap 54 has a smallerthickness at grooves 54 b, the strap 54 will be more flexible and thusthe cover 50 can more easily pivot about the pivoting connection 60. Theraised ridges 54 a also provide an increased tactile surface for theuser to grip when removing the cover 50. The surface of strap 54 may beformed with a variety of patterns, shapes, thicknesses and hardness.

Furthermore, the cap portion 52 may be constructed to have a differentdurometer from the strap 54 in a similar method as the middle portion 46as recited above. In the closed position, this would allow for the capportion 52 to be harder in order to protect the spout 40 whileaccidentally dropped or knocked over. At the same time, constructing thestrap 54 softer would allow the user to more easily manipulate theposition of cover 50 from open to closed or vice versa.

FIGS. 6-9 illustrate the bottle 10 further comprising handles 70 whichextend out from opposing sides of the lid 20 and curve around towards alower portion of the container 30. As shown in FIG. 8, the handles 70may also include a multitude of grooves 72 which enhance the grip of theuser. The handles 70 can take a variety of different shapes and sizesand may have different types of grips such as rubber, plastic, groves,notches, apertures, textures, or any other suitable material or deviceto facilitate gripping by a user.

FIG. 10-13 depict the lid 20, the spout 40, the cover 50, the strap 54and the pivoting connection 60 in greater detail. FIG. 11 illustrates across section of the bottle 10 about section lines A-A in FIG. 10 withthe cover 50 in the closed position.

The lid 20 further comprises a ventilation shaft 22, a vent extrusion 22a and a cover attachment mechanism 80. In addition, the cover 50 furthercomprises a recess 53 in the cap portion 52, and a cover anchor 55located at a second end of the strap 54, wherein the cap portion 52 islocated at a first end of the strap 54. As best shown in FIG. 11, thecover anchor 55 is generally round and comprises an aperture whichreceives the vent extrusion 22 a when the bottle 10 is assembled.However, the cover anchor 55 may take a variety of shapes and sizessuitable to mate and/or attach the cover 50 to the lid 20. Thisconfiguration keeps the cover 50 attached to the bottle 10 and allowsfor the strap 54 to rotate about the pivoting connection 60, while alsobeing removable during washing. Furthermore, the cover anchor 55 mayinstead be attached or integral to the spout 40.

The spout 40 further comprises a horizontally extending ridge 48 and aventilation aperture 49. When assembled, the ridge 48 rests between thelid 20 and an upper portion 32 of the container 30 and is fixed inplace. The ridge 48 also acts to fix the cover anchor 55 into placebetween the spout 40 and the lid 20. The ventilation aperture 49 restsagainst a bottom of the vent extrusion 22 a of the lid 20. This allowsair to flow from the atmosphere, through the ventilation shaft 22 of thelid 20, the ventilation aperture 49 of the spout 40, and into thecontainer 30.

Since the cover anchor 55 surrounds the ventilation shaft 22, both thepivoting connection 60 and the ventilation shaft 22 can be displaced bya predetermined amount from the spout 40. The ventilation shaft 22 ispositioned relative to the spout 40 to permit the free flow of air intothe container 30 while in use. In addition, the pivoting connection 60is suitably positioned relative to the spout 40 so that the cover 50 maynot be obstructed by the user from gripping the spout 40 with theirmouth while drinking from the container 30. It is to be understood,however, that the ventilation shaft 22 may be located on different partsof the lid 20, container 30 or spout 40 as will be shown in analternative embodiment described in FIG. 14.

FIGS. 12-13 show the bottle with the strap 54 (in dashed line) and coveranchor 55 hidden. FIG. 13 illustrates a cross section of the bottle 10about section lines B-B in FIG. 12. As shown, the lid 20 comprises aninner space 25 which surrounds the vent extrusion 22 a. The inner space25 is adapted to receive the cover anchor 55 when assembled and fixesthe cover anchor 55 in place between the lid 20 and the spout 40.

The cover attachment mechanism 80 is shown in more detail in FIG. 13.The recess 53 in the cover 50 has a resilient undercut which slightlyflexes as it is pushed onto the cover attachment point 23. The recess 53flexes back into its original configuration when installed into the openposition, thereby gripping the cover attachment point 23 of the lid 20and preventing the cover 50 from flipping back into the closed positionor any other position while the user is drinking from the bottle 10. Itis to be understood that the cover attachment mechanism 80 can take avariety of forms, including Velcro®, snap, hook and loop, slip-fit,button, or magnets fasteners, or any other suitable coupling mechanism.

FIG. 14 shows a back perspective view of a bite proof bottle 110 with apivoting cover 150 having another exemplary spout 140 and lid 120according to the subject disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 14-16, the cover150 includes a cap portion 152 and a strap 154 which connects to the lid120 at a pivoting connection 160. The cap portion 152 also includes arecess 153 which receives a complementary cover attachment point 123 onthe lid 120. FIGS. 15-16 show another method to attach the cover 153 tothe lid 120 which uses an integrated pin 223 connection which fits intoan aperture 253 located within the cover 150

FIG. 14 shows the spout 140 comprising a top portion 142, bottom portion144, middle portion 146 and a vent 145. Here, the strap 154 is attachedbetween the spout 140 and the lid 120 in a separate position away fromthe vent 145. The vent 145 communicates air from the atmosphere directlyinto a container 130. The middle portion 146 may be constructed to havesimilar features of the middle portion 46 as recited above.

FIGS. 17-26 show another briefly mentioned above process in which anupper portion 242 of a soft top insert 200 may be constructed to includethe previous mentioned top portion 42 and the middle band 46 of a singlematerial composition defining the spout 240. That is, the spout 240 maybe made of a harder first material composition of a first harderdurometer (such as in the range of 60), and the second softer lowerregion 144 may be made of a softer second material composition comprisedof a softer durometer (such as in the range of 50).

As will be described in more detail later, the spout 240 may be formedof, and fastened to, the softer lower region 144 of the soft top insert200 via a compression molding technique and/or any other suitabletechnique capable of fastening a spout of a first durometer to a lowerbase portion of a soft top insert which is composed of a differentsecond durometer composition.

FIGS. 21-24 illustrate various exemplary views of the soft top insert200 including the spout 240 having a single material consistency of afirst durometer and a lower region 144 having a single materialconsistency of a second durometer being softer than the spout 240.

FIGS. 25-26 depict front and side cross section views of the spout softtop insert 200 including the spout 240 connected to the lower region144. As shown, various contours may be constructed into the regionadjacent to the connection between the spout 240 and the lower region144 for a variety of different purposes. For example, various concentricbumps or ridges can be configured to create a connecting lap-jointbetween the between the spout 240 and the upper end of the lower region144. Alternatively, a channel 245 can be constructed adjacent to thespout 240 and the upper end of the lower region 144 in order to providea flow area to allow for trapped gasses during the compression moldingprocess to escape. A plurality of different configurations is possibleat this juncture between the spout 240 and the upper end of the lowerregion 144.

FIGS. 27-35 illustrate one exemplary process for constructing the softtop insert would be a compression molding process in which the is onetool that uses two different molds. A first mold would be used toconstruct the spout tip and a second mold may be used for an overmoldprocess to connect the spout tip to the lower portion of the soft topinsert.

In a first step as shown in FIG. 27, the spout tip is processed. A firstmaterial composition, such as a suitable silicon, is placed between anupper and a lower mold adjacent to a removable insert or core. The firstcomposition is placed over the removable core and adjacent to thevarious cavities adapted to receive the molten composition to form thevarious spout tips. By way of example shown in FIG. 27, slabs of 60durometer silicone may be placed over the removable insert or core. Theremovable core can be a single piece core or a modular core that isassembled with various component parts. As shown in FIG. 27, the variouscomponent parts of the removable core stack adjacent to each otherforming the recess structure that will define the shape of the spoutbetween the upper and lower molds.

In the first step process, the removable core is aligned within theupper and lower molds and the various spouts are formed by a firstcompression molding process in which the molding material, is generallypreheated, is placed in the open, heated mold cavity defined by theupper and lower molds and the inner removable core. The mold is closedwith a predetermined force, and pressure is applied to force the moldmaterial into contact with all mold areas, while heat and pressure aremaintained until the molding material has cured to form the shape of thespouts. Following the spout molding process, the spout may undergo acuring process at a predetermined heat and duration of time.

The advantage of compression molding is its ability to mold fairlyintricate parts. It is also one of the lowest cost molding methods.However, it is to be understood that other methods for molding the spoutmay be employed, such as but not limited to other methods such astransfer molding and injection molding.

In a second step as shown in FIG. 28, the individual spouts are shownattached to the removable core which has been removed from the upper andlower molds. Also shown, the individual spouts may be removed as rows ofspouts from the removable core. As shown in FIG. 29, various individualcomponents of the removable core may then modularly separated from eachother so that each of the individually molded spout tips may be accessedand removed from the removable internal core. Any extraneous flashingmay be cleaned off, or removed from the individual spouts.

FIG. 30 shows another step in which the molds for the first spout moldhave been removed and the molds for the second process are put in placein the compression mold tooling. In the second overmold process, thespout mold is over molded with another mold material of a seconddurometer.

In this step, the overmold has a mold comprised of three layers. Asshown in FIG. 31, the molded spout tips are placed upside down ontomating projections on the bottom most lower layer of the mold. In a nextstep, the middle layer mold is aligned and lowered over the first lowerlayer holding the molded spout tips. The middle layer includes aninternal mold recess adapted to be configured to the outer shape of thesoft top insert. When the upper third layer is closed over the secondand first layers, an internal shape forming the soft top insert isconstructed between the first, middle and upper molds and overmolded ormelted onto the preformed spout tip.

Referring back to FIG. 32, a second mold material of a predeterminedquantity of a second softer durometer material is placed over theinternal mold recess above the middle layer. For example, predeterminedquantities of slabs of 50 durometer silicon may be positioned adjacentto various recessed defined in the middle layer of the mold to form thelower portion of the soft top insert.

As shown in FIG. 33, the lower face of the upper mold includes at leastone projection defining a negative construction of the internal surfacearea of the soft top insert. When the upper mold layer is compressedagainst the second middle layer mold, the projections on the lower faceof the upper mold defines the inner construction of the soft top insert.During the compression process, the upper, middle and lower mold layersclosed against each other under high pressure and heat defining theconfiguration of the soft top insert and it being overmolded onto thehardened spout tip. That is, the top mold layer compresses onto themiddle mold layer and finally onto the lower mold layer of the mold.This compression forms the bottom portion of the soft top insert andcauses the bottom of the spout to overmold onto the spout tip.Thereafter, the complete soft top insert may be processed through asubsequent curing procedure. Since the spout tip of a first durometerhas been cured, it is possible to form a clean secure bond connectionagainst the upper connecting surface of the lower region of the soft topinsert.

Various techniques may be implemented to create a secure connectionbetween the spout tip and the upper portion of the lower region of thesoft top insert below the spout tip, such as by providing a lap-joint orother suitable interlocking structure there-between according to thissubject disclosure. Other alignment and position fastening techniquesmay be employed to ensure that the position of the spout tip adjacent tothe lower layer mold will not shift from its axial alignment during thecompression process such as by forming ridges or joints to keep thespout in a predetermined position during the compression process. Seefor example the various ridges and bumps 220 integrated onto the spoutas shown in FIGS. 35-26 at the junction adjacent to the spout tip 240and the lower region 144 of the soft top insert 200.

Likewise, various other processes may be implemented to bond the spouttip of a first durometer to a lower region of a soft top insert. Forexample, instead of a two step process, both the spout tip of a firstdurometer and the lower region of the soft top insert may be formed in asingle compression process. Furthermore, other manufacturing processesmay be employed, including but not limited to for example, a first orsecond stage compression molding process, an injection molding process,or other suitable process capable of securely bonding a spout tip of afirst durometer to a lower region of a soft top insert of a seconddurometer. Various different suitable durometers may be used accordingto this subject disclosure.

FIG. 34 shows the positioning of various soft top inserts webbedtogether after the compression molding process has occurred and theupper layer has been removed from the middle layer mold.

FIG. 35 depicts the various soft top inserts webbed together prior toremoval of excess material flashing between adjacent soft top inserts.The complete spouts are removed from the mold and set to cool.

FIGS. 36-42 illustrate another exemplary embodiment of the subjectdisclosure having a bottle 10 with a bite proof straw 400. As shown, thebottle has a bite proof straw 400, a collar 410, and a flip lid 420hingedly attached to the collar 410. The collar 410 is attached to thecontainer 30.

The bite proof straw 400 may have a top portion 402 and a bottom portion406. The straw 400 can be made in various shapes or sizes and can bemade from a variety of suitable materials. An opening 403 in the topportion of the straw can be made in the form of a circle, oval, or anyother suitable shape.

The top portion 402 of the straw 400 may act as a bite guard and protectthe straw 400 from biting by the user. The top portion 402 may becomprised of a first durometer and the bottom portion 406 may becomprised of a second durometer. The first durometer may be greater thanthe second durometer having a more durable composition to provide addedbite protection to the top portion 402, which is bitten by the user. Thetop portion 402 may be manufactured to have a first color while thebottom portion 406 may have a second color identifying a differenthardness, such as shown in FIG. 37. This gives the user a visualindicator of where the material durometer changes and thus were the biteguard is located. Furthermore, different colors may act to distinguishbite guards with different durometer values.

FIG. 37 illustrates an alternative construction for the bite proof straw400. Alternatively, there may be a middle band portion 404 between thetop portion 402 and bottom portion 406 that may act as a bite guard. Themiddle band portion 404 may have a third durometer that is greater thanthe durometer of the top portion 402 and bottom portion 406 to giveadded bite protection. The middle band portion 404 and top portion 402may alternatively have the first durometer and the bottom portion 406may have the second durometer. The middle band portion 404 may bemanufactured to have a color according to a predetermined durometervalue. Furthermore, the top portion 402 and bottom portion 406 may beconstructed of a first durometer and the middle band portion 404 may beconstructed of a second durometer.

The middle band portion 405 may be extended concentrically flush withthe top portion 402 and bottom portion 406, or may extend radiallyoutward by a predetermined thickness to form a bump 405 to furtherdistinguish it from the rest of the straw 400. The bump 405 may belocated at the top, middle, or bottom of the middle band portion 404 (asshown in FIG. 37), or any combination thereof. The middle band portion404 may also include various textures, patterns, or designs on itssurface or interior to further distinguish it from the rest of thestraw. Differing the texture of the middle band portion 404 or providingthe bump 405 will provide the user an additional tactile feedback ofwhere the durometer changes when they drink from the bottle 10.

The bottom portion 406 of the straw 400 can be made with a sufficientlyflexible material, allowing the straw 400 to bend without being damaged.The bottom portion 406 may be constructed to endure the cyclic bendingand unbending that occurs when switching the straw 400 between thestored and in-use positions.

As shown in FIG. 40, the bottom portion 406 may have a recessed ring 407that mates with a protruding ring 412 from the collar 410 to removablysecure the straw 400 to the collar 410 and create a seal. The bottomportion 406 may have a wider segment 408 that prevents upwarddisplacement of the straw 400 through an opening 413 in the collar 410as well as reinforce the seal between the straw 400 and the collar 410.

The bottom portion 406 of the straw 400 can also attach to a ventilationshaft 415 of the collar 410 by a friction fit grip. The bottom portion406 can also cover the ventilation shaft 415 with a one-way passagevalve 409, allowing air to enter into the container 30 while preventingthe spillage of a fluid contained therein.

In order to form the differences in durometer of the different portionsof the bite proof straw 400, the top portion 402 having the firstdurometer may be compression molded and the bottom portion 406 havingthe second durometer may be subsequently liquid injection molded aroundthe top portion. Alternatively, the middle band portion 404 may becompression molded alongside the top portion 402, and then the bottomportion 406 may be subsequently molded. The bottom portion 406 mayalternatively be compression molded in any of these embodiments.

FIGS. 40-42 depict various cross section views of the bottle 10, withand without, the bite proof straw 400. The top portion 402 may becomolded over a portion of the bottom portion 406 as shown or the topportion 402 may be attached to the bottom portion 406 in a variety ofways previously described.

The collar 410 may be made in a variety of shapes and sizes, and may bemade out a variety of materials. The collar 410 may secure the straw 400by mating with a recessed ring 407 in the straw 400 or by any othersuitable mechanism. The collar 410 has a ventilation shaft 415 oropening to allow atmospheric air to enter into the container 30. Thecollar 410 may also have a protrusion 416 sufficiently large in size andnear enough to the straw 400 that the protrusion 416 will constrict theflow of liquid through the straw 400 when the straw 400 is folded overthe protrusion 416 in a closed position.

The collar 410 may have a recess 418 or recesses that mate withprotrusions 422 on the flip lid 420 in order to attach the flip lid 420to the collar 410. The collar 410 may also have a locking recess orsimilar mechanism to reversibly secure the flip lid 420 closed when in aclosed position. As shown in FIG. 42, one side of the collar 410 mayalso have a protruding end 419 with a ledge that meets with the flip lid420 in order to protect and cover the open end of the straw 400 when thestraw 400 is folded over in the closed position.

FIG. 42 shows the flip lid 420 may have protrusions 422 that hingedlyattach to the collar 410, allowing the flip lid 420 to alternate betweenan open position and a closed position. The flip lid 420 has a raisedchamber 424 that envelopes the straw 400 in the closed position. Theflip lid 420 may have any number of grip elements 425 on the outersurface to assist with moving the flip lid 420. These grip elements 425may also be on the outer surface of the raised chamber 422. The flip lidmay 420 also have a protrusion or similar mechanism that allows it toreversibly lock with the collar 410.

When the flip lid 420 is rotated about the hinge (defined by the recess418 and protrusions 422) into a storage position, the straw 400 is bentinward towards, and lies against blocking protrusion 416. A front edge428 of the flip lid 420 contacts a portion of the straw 400, whichcauses the straw 400 to flex about a distal portion to the bottle 10. Asthe flip lid 420 moves from an open position to a closed position, thefront edge 428 of the flip lid 420 travels over a length of the straw400. When the flip lid 420 is in the closed position, the straw 400 willbe completely within a gap in the raised chamber 424 provided betweenthe flip lid 420 and the bottle 10. An advantage of having a softerdurometer bottom portion is the added flexibility of the straw 400 toflex during this process.

As mentioned previously, the bottle 10 described herein includes all ofthe features and functionality discussed above.

The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatorypurposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes ormodifications may be made to the above described embodiment withoutdeparting from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. It isunderstood therefore that the invention is not limited to the particularembodiment which is described, but is intended to cover allmodifications and changes within the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A drinking straw, comprising: a straw comprising:an upper portion having a first material of a first durometer; and alower portion having a second material of a second durometer differentfrom the first durometer of the first material, wherein an upper end ofthe lower portion is attached to a lower end of the upper portion. 2.The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the first durometer is higherthan the second durometer and more resistant to an increased bitepressure.
 3. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the first materialis positioned as a band around a circumference of the upper portion. 4.The drinking straw of claim 3, wherein the second material surrounds theband of first material in the upper portion.
 5. The drinking straw ofclaim 4, wherein the first durometer is higher than the seconddurometer.
 6. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the upper portionis comprised substantially of the first material which has a higherdurometer than the second material, which comprises all of the lowerportion.
 7. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the upper portionincludes the first material on an upper end, which is away from thelower end that is attached to the upper end of the lower portion; theupper portion upper end comprised of the first material, and the upperportion lower end and the lower portion comprised of the secondmaterial.
 8. The drinking straw of claim 1, wherein the upper end of thelower portion is attached to the lower end of the upper portion via acompression molding process.
 9. A drinking assembly, comprising: acontainer for holding a fluid; and a lid sealingly attached to thecontainer to contain the fluid therein; and a straw disposed in the lid,the straw having an upper portion comprised of a first material having afirst durometer; and a lower portion comprised of a second materialhaving a second durometer different from the first durometer of thefirst material; wherein the upper portion includes the first material onan upper end, which is away from the lower end that is attached to theupper end of the lower portion; the upper portion of the upper end iscomprised of the first material, and the upper portion of the lower endand the lower portion is comprised of the second material.
 10. Thedrinking straw assembly of claim 9, wherein the first durometer isgreater than the second durometer.
 11. The drinking straw assembly ofclaim 9, wherein the first material is positioned as a band around acircumference of the straw upper portion.
 12. The drinking strawassembly of claim 11, wherein the second material surrounds the band offirst material in the straw upper portion.
 13. The drinking strawassembly of claim 12, wherein the first durometer is higher than thesecond durometer.
 14. The drinking straw assembly of claim 9, whereinthe straw upper portion is comprised substantially of the first materialwhich has a higher durometer than the second material, which comprisesall of the straw lower portion.
 15. The drinking straw assembly of claim9, wherein the straw upper portion includes multiple materials havingdiffering durometers, the highest durometer material being furthest awayfrom the straw lower portion.
 16. A drinking assembly, comprising: acontainer for holding a fluid; and a lid sealingly attached to thecontainer to contain the fluid therein; and a straw extending throughthe lid, the straw having an upper portion comprised of a first materialhaving a first durometer; and a lower portion comprised of a secondmaterial having a second durometer different from the first durometer ofthe first material;
 17. The drinking assembly of claim 16, wherein: theupper portion includes the first material on an upper end, which is awayfrom the lower end that is attached to the upper end of the lowerportion; and the upper portion of the upper end is comprised of thefirst material, and the upper portion of the lower end and the lowerportion is comprised of the second material.
 18. The drinking assemblyof claim 16, wherein the first material is positioned as a band around acircumference of the upper portion.
 19. The drinking assembly of claim16, wherein the upper end of the lower portion is attached to the lowerend of the upper portion via a compression molding process.